This evening I decided to try, then buy, a game called Soulcaster. I think it was 240 points.
I really enjoyed it.
The gameplay is... imagine if Gauntlet was an amalgam of action, strategy, RPG and tower defense. Without an energy timer or food to shoot.
So you control a wizard who can't fight directly, and he can summon a lady Elf to stand and shoot arrows, a warrior who can take a lot of damage and can't do ranged attacks, and a lobber who can kill various things over walls that others can't, but blows up if he gets killed. The wizard can also use a scroll to attack everything on screen, if he picks one up and you use the right trigger.
I really like this because I am a somewhat frustrated Gauntlet player. I like the game but... it's so repetitive, there are lots of narrow passages where you want the warrior to lead but the weak characters end up tanking... he walks into a Grim Reaper and then becomes a pile of bones and more enemies... and if you're playing online you end up playing with silly people who shoot food and wander off so the map won't scroll, and don't understand switches and teleports, etc etc.
Maybe I did always want it to be single player if I can't communicate what everyone should do. I can finally get my warrior to stand in front and have the others do a lot of damage from further back. I can power up my characters. I can maneuver when chased by things I can't kill without help. There isn't too much repetition in map layouts. And finally, it really does have an ending!
So, I found this a very satisfying game. I really liked it!
I finished the game, it says...
Completion time: 1:21:47
Normal Mode
Died: 3 times.
Summon Count:
"Elf" x 221
"Warrior" x 349
"Lobber" x 262
(well, it has graphics representing the summons, but.. I can't help but think of them with Gauntlet character names!)
